Coon hunting question

[Max2]

Just reading through and hit the thread on rabies and it made me wonder about coon hunting. I once trapped a big coon that was killing my quail in their pen . Needless to say she was not at all happy to be caught in the trap. My question : When coon hunting do your dogs get into it with the coon more often then not or do they kind of just keep the animal at bay ? & are there many coon hunters anymore ? I can remember yrs ago hearing them at night in the woods near my camp.

[Sharon]

Lots in Ontario and Michigan I know.
coon hunting and rabies:
https://www.google.ca/search?sourceid=n ... and+rabies

[kcbullets]

I coon hunted growing up and never had any issues with rabies. Our dogs tracked and treed them so there wasn't any fighting going on. Occasionally during season when knocking a coon out if the coon wasn't completely dead there was a brief fight. My experience was some dogs were fighters and they finished the kill immediately, or they didn't like to fight and just held it at bay. My father continues to coon hunt to this day, he is 74 years old. Never had a dog get rabies. I don't know anyone that has coon hunted more or as long as him. He has always had 6-10 dogs at once. Still does.

[Max2]

KCBULLETS I think it's great that your dad still enjoys coon hunting. It seem's to me that guy's your dad's age of 74 have seen the really good yrs for coon hunting. I'm 55 and remember the guy's that were older often talked of how great the coon hunting was. The younger generation are doing it here where I live. Not many but they are here. What's becoming popular is using hounds for coyote's.

[deke]

Havent really heard much about coon hunting where I am from. We have them here, they try to steal my dog food every once in a while. I have a coon graveyard behind my house for the ones who don't think the dogs barking is a good enough warning. Had my yellow lab pin three in the garage one morning, I was surprised how fast he killed them, and how little damage he took. I would think they were young ones though, about 18 inches from nose to tail and fairly skinny.

[kcbullets]

Max2-i remember my dad would hunt every night during season all night long. I remember years when the pelts were actually worth something he would bag over 300. He hunted hard, and had very good dogs. Growing up he would take me to coon hunting competitions and we made several Night Champions and a few Grand Night Champions. I was always the only kid in the cast. We also had coyote dogs and ran them. Over the years my dad has had several mules, which he also hunted off of. He is a true diehard coon hunter. He stopped hunting hard during season when the fur market bottomed out. But he continued to train dogs and hunt. He just simply stopped killing them.

[Georgia Boy]

If your dog has a current rabies vaccination you should have nothing to worry about, I have never had a problem.

[GSP4ME]

Rabies may not be a big issue, but be knowledgable about the signs/symptoms of coon fever/coonhound paralysis.

Also beware of the coons that want to take the fight with a dog into the water. Never seen it happen, but i've heard more than one first hand account of coons that will drown a dog. Some seem to welcome the fight even with a dog much bigger while others want no part unless backed into a corner. Had an American Bulldog years ago that would make quick work of most of them were they foolish enough to trespass on his yard.